1. Environmental Objectives- Article 4.7
RBMP workshop
Environmental Objectives- Article 4.7
Bonn
8-9 May 2006
Gilles Crosnier
European Commission, DG Environment
Unit D.2 – Water and Marine, WFD Team

2. General Process
Paper on environmental objectives endorsed by the Water Directors in June 2005
Agreement by the Water Directors in December 2006 to start a new activity on WFD Article 4.7, then to continue with other exemptions cases
Ongoing work on 4.7 (DG meeting on 24 March and 9 June)

3. Key messages from the environmental objectives paper (1)
Socio-economic considerations should be taken into account in exemptions and CEA, not when defining status class boundaries
Exemptions are integral part of objectives/planning and should be used to prioritise actions in river basins and programmes of measures
Exemptions could be applied in a stepwise approach (figure 1)

4. Key messages (2)

5. Key messages from the env. objectives paper (2)
“less stringent objective” represents the nearest quality one can get to “good status”
A harmonised, comparable and transparent approach for the application of the exemptions and the CEA should be carried out within RBD
The appropriate scale of application of assessments may be different for different issues

6. Key messages from the env. objectives paper (3)
Step 1 ( ): EU harmonisation of criteria for status assessment
Step 2 ( ): Evaluation of the most cost-effective measures and public consultation
Step 3 (2007 onwards): monitoring of water quality
Step 4 ( ): set objectives including, if necessary and appropriate, application of exemptions following public participation

7. Article 4.7- key concepts
Mitigation
Overriding public interest
Comparing costs and benefits
Alternative solutions

8. Article 4.7- key questions (1)
Timing of application?
What kind of modifications, alterations and activities are concerned?
What is considered as a deterioration of status and potential?
Does it apply to temporary effects?
Does it apply to small-size projects?
Does it apply to plans and programmes?

9. Article 4.7- key questions (2)
How are the effects on the water body’s status assessed?
What are new sustainable human development activities?
Can 4.7 be applied to all the WB affected by a new modification?
Can 4.7 be applied to protected areas?

10. Article 4.7- links with RBMP
Baseline for 4.7
Reporting the use of 4.7 exemptions in the RBMP
4.7 and the designation of HMWB